Deckard's Dream MK2

1 — Overview & Features

Deckard's Dream is an 8-voice, dual-layer polyphonic analogue synthesizer inspired by the Yamaha CS-80. It is not a clone — it's a revival of that era's expressive design philosophy using modern components.

Key Specs

Spec	Details
Voices	8 analogue voices, fully analogue signal path
Layers	2 independent synthesis layers per voice (Layer I + Layer II)
Presets	1,152 total (128 Factory + Banks 1–3 pre-loaded + User Banks 4–8, 128 slots each)
Oscillator	VCO with Square, Saw, Sine waveforms per layer + white noise
Filters	12dB/oct HPF and LPF per layer (4 filters total per voice)
Envelopes	ADR for VCF, ADSR for VCA (per layer)
LFO	1 global Sub-Oscillator (LFO) — Sine, Saw, Ramp, Square, Random/S&H, External (MK1)
MIDI	DIN5 In/Thru/Out, USB MIDI, MPE, Polyphonic Aftertouch
Audio Out	1/4" balanced mono (MK2.3+), Headphones stereo
Form Factor	19" 4U rack-mount desktop, ~2.35 kg

The sine waveform bypasses the VCF entirely and goes directly to the VCA. Only Square, Saw, and Noise are processed by the filters.

2 — Setup & Connections

Power: 12V/2.5A barrel connector. Allow a few minutes after power-on for oscillators to reach stable tuning.

Audio Out: Turn volume to minimum before connecting. Balanced mono 1/4" (MK2.3+). Headphone output mirrors audio out, controlled by the same Volume knob.

DIN MIDI: Connect controller's MIDI Out → DD's MIDI In. Use MIDI Thru to chain another device.

USB MIDI: USB-A (computer) to USB-B (DD). Works as a class-compliant USB MIDI device.

MK1 only: External CV input jack on rear panel. Set Sub-Oscillator Function to EXT to use. Default voltage range 0–5V; adjustable in Settings → External.

3 — Banks & Preset Selection

Bank Overview

Bank	Contents
FACTORY	128 curated factory presets (read-only style)
BANK 1	Expert sound programmer patches showcasing DD's depth
BANK 2	14 original CS-80 preset recreations + 114 new sounds
BANK 3	Original MK1 preset sound bank
USER BANKS 4–8	128 user-editable slots each (fully writable)

Navigation

Switch banks: Hold SHIFT + press UP or DOWN.
Select preset: Press UP (previous) or DOWN (next).
Panel Mode: Press PANEL button (MK2) or SHIFT+ENTER (MK1). Display reads PNL. Bypasses all presets — sound comes from physical slider positions. Exit by pressing PANEL again or navigating to a saved patch.

Saving Patches

Save to current location: Press ENTER (SAVE) → press ENTER again to confirm.
Save to new location (same bank): Press ENTER (SAVE) → navigate with UP/DOWN → press ENTER to confirm.
Save to different bank: Hold SHIFT + UP/DOWN to select bank → press ENTER (SAVE) → navigate → press ENTER to confirm.

Saving overwrites the destination preset permanently. Be certain of the target location before confirming.

Backing Up Patches (USB Drive Mode)

Power off DD
Connect USB cable to computer
Hold SHIFT while powering on — display shows USB symbol
DD appears as an external drive on computer
Copy dd_bank_1.p and dd_bank_2.p to your computer
Eject the drive from computer before powering off DD

MIDI Program/Bank Change

DD responds to Program Change and Bank Change (CC0) messages. Bank values: 0 = User Bank 1, 1 = User Bank 2, 2 = Factory Bank. Enable CC Receive in MIDI settings.

4 — Panel Layout Quick Reference

Controls 1–26 are duplicated identically for Layer I and Layer II. The following applies to each layer.

#	Control	Function
1	SPEED (PWM LFO)	PWM LFO speed. No effect if PWM=0.
2	PWM	PWM depth, 0–10. 0 = no modulation.
3	PW	Manual pulse width 50–90%. Sets center if PWM is active.
4	Square On/Off	Switch down = Square on. Switch up = off.
5	Saw On/Off	Switch down = Saw on. Switch up = off.
6	NOISE	White noise level mixed into signal.
7	HPF	High-pass filter cutoff. Top = closed. Bottom = fully open.
8	RESH	HPF resonance. Does not self-oscillate at max.
9	LPF	Low-pass filter cutoff. Top = open. Bottom = closed.
10	RESL	LPF resonance. Does not self-oscillate at max.
11	IL (Initial Level)	Filter envelope start offset — lower starting point. Max = -5. No effect if VCF Attack is at minimum.
12	AL (Attack Level)	Filter envelope peak level — higher starting point (envelope amount). Max = +5. No effect if VCF Attack is at minimum.
13	A (VCF Attack)	Filter envelope attack time. Top = longest.
14	D (VCF Decay)	Filter envelope decay time. Top = longest.
15	R (VCF Release)	Filter envelope release time. Top = longest.
16	VCF Level	Amount of VCF signal passed to VCA. 0 = only Sine can be heard.
17	Sine Level	Sine wave level into VCA. Bypasses all filter stages.
18	A (VCA Attack)	VCA envelope attack time. Top = longest.
19	D (VCA Decay)	VCA envelope decay time. Top = longest.
20	S (VCA Sustain)	VCA sustain level.
21	R (VCA Release)	VCA envelope release time. Top = longest.
22	LEVEL	Layer volume. Useful for balancing Layer I vs II (also see MIX I/II).
23	Initial Touch Brilliance	Velocity → VCF cutoff depth. 0 = no effect. 10 = maximum.
24	Initial Touch Level	Velocity → VCA volume depth. 0 = no effect. 10 = maximum.
25	After Brilliance	Aftertouch → VCF cutoff depth. 0 = no effect. 10 = maximum.
26	After Level	Aftertouch → VCA volume depth. 0 = no effect. 10 = maximum.

Master Controls (both layers)

#	Control	Function
27	Coarse Pitch	Global coarse pitch ±5 semitones. Center detent = unity. Top = lower pitch.
28	Fine Pitch	Global fine pitch ±1 semitone. Center detent = unity.
29	Detune CH II	Detunes Layer II oscillator from Layer I ±1 semitone. Thickens sound.
30	FEET Layer I	Octave/fifths: 16' (lowest) → 8' → 5⅓' → 4' → 2⅔' → 2' (highest)
31	FEET Layer II	Same as FEET Layer I but for Layer II only
32	Sub-Osc Function	LFO waveform: Sine, Saw, Ramp, Square, Random/S&H, External (MK1 only)
33	Sub-Osc Speed	LFO frequency. Lower slider = faster LFO.
34	Sub-Osc VCO mod	LFO → VCO pitch depth (vibrato). Lower = more modulation.
35	Sub-Osc VCF mod	LFO → VCF cutoff depth. Lower = more modulation.
36	Sub-Osc VCA mod	LFO → VCA volume depth (tremolo). Lower = more modulation.
37	Mix I/II	Layer crossfader. Top = Layer I only. Bottom = Layer II only. Middle = equal mix.
38	BRIL (Global Brilliance)	Master VCF cutoff — affects all 4 filters simultaneously. Center = no effect.
39	RESO (Global Resonance)	Master resonance — affects all 4 filters simultaneously. Top = no effect. Bottom = max.
40	Initial Touch P.Bend	Velocity → pitch bend "glide up to note" depth. Bottom = max. Range set in Settings → Keyboard.
41	After Sub-Osc Speed	Aftertouch → LFO speed. Bottom = max effect. Works with sliders 42 & 43 for expressive CS-80-style playing.
42	After Sub-Osc VCO	Aftertouch → LFO→VCO depth (vibrato). Bottom = max.
43	After Sub-Osc VCF	Aftertouch → LFO→VCF depth. Bottom = max.
44	VCF Keyboard Follow	Low/High sliders: Sets how VCF cutoff responds to note position on keyboard.
45	VCA Keyboard Follow	Low/High sliders: Sets how VCA level responds to note position on keyboard.
—	Port/Gliss Time	Portamento/Glissando transition speed.
—	P/G Switch	Left = Portamento (smooth glide), Center = off, Right = Glissando (stepped semitones)
—	SUSTAIN slider	MK2 only Master sustain/release control for both layers. CC-controllable.
—	SUSTAIN I/II switch	MK2 only See Sustain Modes below.
—	Volume Knob	Master output volume for both headphone and Audio Out jacks.

5 — Layer I/II Synthesis Details

Sustain Modes (MK2 Only)

Mode	Behavior
SUSTAIN I	Round-robin voice assignment. All notes sustain and release independently. Each note gets the same release time regardless of new notes played.
SUSTAIN II	New notes/chords cut off previous ones (unless held). Last played note carries sustain/release. Enables monophonic legato leads with right hand while holding chords with left — the classic CS-80 trick.

Sustain II combined with slow-release patches and Portamento/Glissando is particularly expressive and CS-80-authentic.

Touch Response Tips

Setting Layer I and Layer II Initial/After Brilliance and Level sliders to different values creates interesting expressive results — the two layers respond differently to velocity and pressure, adding depth to the performance.

Slider Direction Convention

Unlike most synths, many of DD's sliders have maximum effect at the bottom, not the top. Each slider description in the manual uses Top=Max/Bottom=Min or Top=Min/Bottom=Max notation. When in doubt, check the panel layout table above — it notes direction for each control.

FEET (Oscillator Pitch in Pipe Organ Stops)

FEET Setting	Relationship
16'	Lowest — one octave below 8'
8'	Default / standard pitch
5⅓'	A perfect 5th above 8'
4'	One octave above 8'
2⅔'	A perfect 5th above 4'
2'	Highest — two octaves above 8'

Using different FEET settings on Layer I and Layer II creates dyads (two-note chords) from a single played note.

6 — Master Synthesis Parameters

Keyboard Control (Filter & Volume Tracking)

BRILLIANCE LOW/HIGH and LEVEL LOW/HIGH sliders determine how VCF cutoff and VCA level respond to note position across the keyboard. The effect is distributed on a curve — not a hard split. Center position = no effect. Moving sliders away from center increases or decreases the response for the respective register.

Effective range set by Tracking Width (Settings → Keyboard, 1–10 octaves, default 4). Center point set by Middle Octave setting.

Portamento / Glissando

Portamento: Smooth pitch glide between notes. Transition time up to ~10 seconds at maximum slider (lowest to highest note).
Glissando: Stepped pitch transition in semitone steps between notes.
Center (off): Instant pitch change.

Glide/gliss behavior differs slightly between Sustain I and Sustain II modes, especially with slow-release patches.

7 — Settings Menu

Access: Hold SHIFT + press CANCEL (STNG). Navigate with UP/DOWN. Press ENTER (RUN) to enter a section. Press CANCEL (BACK) to return. Settings marked GLOBAL affect all patches. Settings marked PER-PATCH affect only the current patch and must be saved.

RETUNE GLOBAL

Quickly retunes all oscillators. Press ENTER to start (~10–20 seconds). Display reads DONE when complete.

MIDI

Setting	Scope	Options / Notes
MODE	GLOBAL	CHANNEL PRESSURE (basic MIDI), POLY AFTERTOUCH (poly AT controllers), MPE (Osmose, Linnstrument, Continuum, Roli, etc.)
CHANNEL	GLOBAL	Channels 1–16 for Channel/Poly mode. Channels 1–8 for MPE (DD assigns voices to channels 9–16 automatically).
OUT CHANNEL	GLOBAL	MIDI transmit channel (1–16)
CC RECEIVE	GLOBAL	ON/OFF — whether DD responds to incoming CC messages
CC74 REPLACE	GLOBAL	Remaps CC74 (MPE vertical axis) to: LFO Speed, LFO→VCO, LFO→VCF, LFO→VCA, Brilliance, LPF A, LPF B, HPF A, or HPF B
PC SEND	GLOBAL	ON/OFF — whether DD sends Program Change on patch scroll

SLIDERS / CC Behavior

Mode	Behavior
PICK UP	No effect until physical slider passes through stored patch value. Then takes over. Safe for performance.
MERGE	Immediate effect but gradually meets the physical position over time.
INSTANT	Slider/CC immediately snaps to physical position. Responsive but risky live.

MOD WHEEL DESTINATION PER-PATCH

Available destinations: LFO Depth→VCO (CC106), LFO Depth→VCF (CC107), LFO Depth→VCA (CC108), Brilliance (CC109), Portamento Level (CC005), PWM Speed 1 (CC040), PWM Speed 2 (CC067), PWM Speed 1+2, Detune (CC095), Feet 1 (CC102), Feet 2 (CC103), Noise 1, Noise 2.

MOD WHEEL POLARITY: POSITIVE (mod wheel increases value) or NEGATIVE (mod wheel decreases value).

VOICE

Setting	Scope	Options
MODE	PER-PATCH	MONOPHONIC (1 voice), POLYPHONIC (up to 8), UNISON (all voices on 1 note — thickest)
NUMBER OF VOICES	GLOBAL	1–8. Affects Polyphonic mode only.
DETUNE	PER-PATCH	0–3.0 Hz in 0.1 Hz steps. Simulates vintage analogue pitch drift. In Unison creates thick swarm effect at high settings.
CARDS PER VOICE	GLOBAL	1 = up to 8 notes poly, thinner per voice. 2 = up to 4 notes poly, thicker per voice.
HPF MOD	GLOBAL	NORMAL = HPF envelope polarity opposite to LPF. INVERTED = HPF envelope same polarity as LPF.

TIME

Setting	Scope	Default / Range
LFO MAX	PER-PATCH	Default 25.0 Hz / Range 10–45 Hz. Sets bottom of Sub-Osc Speed slider.
LFO MIN	PER-PATCH	Default 0.7 Hz / Range 0.1–5.0 Hz. Sets top of Sub-Osc Speed slider.
PWM MAX	PER-PATCH	Default 70.0 Hz / Range 10–100 Hz. Sets top of PWM Speed slider.
PWM MIN	PER-PATCH	Default 0.7 Hz / Range 0.1–5.0 Hz. Sets bottom of PWM Speed slider.
PWM MODE	GLOBAL	SEPARATE = Layers I & II PWM LFOs run independently. SYNC = both run at Layer I speed, depths still independent.
ATTACK TIME	PER-PATCH	Default 1 sec / Range 1–100 sec. Maximum attack length for VCF and VCA envelopes.
DEC/REL TIME	PER-PATCH	Default 15 sec / Range 15–150 sec. Maximum decay and release for VCF and VCA.
LFO DEPTH	PER-PATCH	CLASSIC (shallower, default) or EXTENDED (deeper max modulation range)
LFO MODE	GLOBAL	POLY = independent LFO cycle per voice/note. MONO = LFO synced across all notes (phase from first note of chord).
RESET TO DEFAULTS	GLOBAL	Resets all TIME settings to factory defaults.

MICROTUNING

Enable/disable microtuning. Import .mts files via OddSound MTS-ESP MIDI Client VST/AU plugin in your DAW. Set Method to MTS SYSEX, Output to the correct port, select .mts file, click Send Dump.

KEYBOARD

Setting	Scope	Details
PITCHBEND RANGE	GLOBAL	Default 3 semitones / Range 1–99 semitones
TR PITCHBEND RANGE	GLOBAL	Touch Response pitch bend velocity range. Default 1 semitone / Range 1–20 semitones
TRACKING WIDTH	GLOBAL	Keyboard range for KEYBOARD CONTROL section. Default 4 octaves / Range 1–10 octaves
MIDDLE OCTAVE	GLOBAL	Center point for TRACKING WIDTH. No effect if width = 10 octaves.
AMOUNT	GLOBAL	NORMAL = CS-80 style range. EXTENDED = wider min/max range for Keyboard Control section.
PRESET VOLUME	PER-PATCH	Per-patch gain normalization. Range -6dB to +6dB.

CALIBRATION

SLIDERS: Recalibrates center detent position. Set all center-detented sliders to middle before running (Coarse Pitch, Fine Pitch, Detune CH II, Mix I/II, Master Brilliance, Keyboard Control Brilliance Low/High, Keyboard Control Level Low/High).

OSCILLATORS: Auto-tunes all voices (~10–15 minutes total, ~1–3 min per voice) or individual voices. Allow 20 minutes warmup before calibrating.

SCREENSAVER: Never / 5 min / 10 min / 30 min / 1 hour.

FIRMWARE UPDATE

MK1 firmware = 1.x.x. MK2 firmware = 2.x.x. Do NOT mix firmware versions — wrong firmware can damage the unit.

Power on while holding SHIFT
Connect USB to computer — DD appears as a drive
Drop new firmware file (and bank files if updating) onto the drive
Eject drive from computer
Restart DD — it loads new firmware and restarts automatically

RESET SETTINGS

Resets all global settings to factory defaults. Settings → Reset Settings → ENTER → ENTER to confirm.

8 — MIDI CC Chart

CC	Range	Function
CC0	0–8	Bank Select
CC1	0–127	Modulation Wheel
CC5	0–127	Portamento/Glissando Time
CC8	0/64/127	Mix I/II
CC9	0–64 / 65–127	Sustain Switch
CC10	0–127	Sustain Slider
CC32	0–127	Detune CH II
CC40	0–127	PWM Speed Layer A
CC41	0–127	PWM Amount Layer A
CC42	0–127	PW (Pulse Width) Layer A
CC43	0–64 / 65–127	Square Wave Switch Layer A
CC44	0–64 / 65–127	Saw Wave Switch Layer A
CC45	0–127	Noise Level Layer A
CC46	0–127	VCF HPF Layer A
CC47	0–127	VCF RESH (HPF Resonance) Layer A
CC48	0–127	VCF LPF Layer A
CC49	0–127	VCF RESL (LPF Resonance) Layer A
CC50	0–127	VCF IL (Initial Level) Layer A
CC51	0–127	VCF AL (Attack Level) Layer A
CC52	0–127	VCF Attack Layer A
CC53	0–127	VCF Decay Layer A
CC54	0–127	VCF Release Layer A
CC55	0–127	VCF Level Layer A
CC56	0–127	Sine Level Layer A
CC57	0–127	VCA Attack Layer A
CC58	0–127	VCA Decay Layer A
CC59	0–127	VCA Sustain Layer A
CC60	0–127	VCA Release Layer A
CC61	0–127	VCA Level Layer A
CC62	0–127	Touch Response Initial Brilliance Layer A
CC63	0–127	Touch Response Initial Level Layer A
CC64	0–127	Sustain Pedal
CC65	0–127	Touch Response After Brilliance Layer A
CC66	0–127	Touch Response After Level Layer A
CC67	0–127	PWM Speed Layer B
CC68	0–127	PWM Amount Layer B
CC69	0–127	PW Layer B
CC70	0–64 / 65–127	Saw Wave Switch Layer B
CC71	0–64 / 65–127	Square Wave Switch Layer B
CC72	0–127	Noise Level Layer B
CC73	0–127	VCF HPF Layer B
CC74	0–127	Brilliance (also MPE Y-axis — remappable via CC74 Replace)
CC75	0–127	VCF LPF Layer B
CC76	0–127	VCF RESL Layer B
CC77	0–127	VCF IL Layer B
CC78	0–127	VCF AL Layer B
CC79	0–127	VCF Attack Layer B
CC80	0–127	VCF Decay Layer B
CC81	0–127	VCF Release Layer B
CC82	0–127	VCF Level Layer B
CC83	0–127	Sine Level Layer B
CC84	0–127	VCA Attack Layer B
CC85	0–127	VCA Decay Layer B
CC86	0–127	VCA Sustain Layer B
CC87	0–127	VCA Release Layer B
CC88	0–127	VCA Level Layer B
CC89	0–127	TR Initial Brilliance Layer B
CC90	0–127	TR Initial Level Layer B
CC91	0–127	TR After Brilliance Layer B
CC92	0–127	TR After Level Layer B
CC93	0/64/127	Coarse Pitch
CC94	0/64/127	Fine Pitch
CC102	stepped	Feet 1 (6 positions)
CC103	stepped	Feet 2 (6 positions)
CC104	stepped	Sub-Osc Function (waveform)
CC105	0–127	Sub-Osc Speed
CC106	0–127	Sub-Osc VCO mod (LFO→VCO)
CC107	0–127	Sub-Osc VCF mod (LFO→VCF)
CC108	0–127	Sub-Osc VCA mod (LFO→VCA)
CC109	0/64/127	Master Brilliance
CC110	0–127	Master Resonance
CC111	0–127	Touch Response P.Bend
CC112	0–127	Touch Response Speed
CC113	0–127	Touch Response VCO
CC114	0–127	Touch Response VCF
CC115	0/64/127	Keyboard Control Brilliance Low
CC116	0/64/127	Keyboard Control Brilliance High
CC117	0/64/127	Keyboard Control Level Low
CC118	0/64/127	Keyboard Control Level High
CC119	0–127	VCF RESH (HPF Resonance) Layer B

9 — XERXES Expander

The XERXES is the official expander unit for Deckard's Dream, designed by Black Corporation. Documentation in the source manual is minimal — the only reference is the credits page listing Roman Filippov, Bob Akber, and Aleksandr Kholenko as XERXES contributors.

Full XERXES documentation will be added here when available. For now, consult the Black Corporation website or contact them directly at the support address in the manual.

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